Headlines

The Week Ahead... (Jan. 30)

by
Staff Writer
/ Nashville Predators

What to Watch For...

Nashville Tuesday- Nashville @ Minnesota Wild

Nashville and Minnesota have split their two meetings so far this season, a pair of one-goal games. Cal Clutterbuck scored midway through the third period for Minnesota's 3-2 home win, while Colin Wilson tallied the shootout winner in Nashville's 2-1 home win. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Tennessee (Comcast HD 1675) with radio coverage on the Preds Radio Network including flagship station 102.5FM The Game. Puck drops at 7:00pm/CT.

Thursday- Nashville @ Philadelphia Flyers The Preds will meet up with familiar faces Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen when they head to Philly to take on the Flyers on Thursday. Nashville picked up the 4-2 win in the first meeting between the teams this season. Nick Spaling picked up the game winning goal and Pekka Rinne was the winning goalie once again. Thursday is also an O’Charley’s Chill Out Party night at their Smyrna location. Join Gnash, the Nashville Predators dancers and Woody & Jim starting at 5:30/CT for a chance at some great prizes and to watch the game with fellow Preds fans! The game will be televised on Fox Sports Tennessee (Comcast HD 1675) with radio coverage on the Preds Radio Network including flagship station 102.5FM The Game. Puck drops at 6:00pm/CT.

Saturday- Nashville vs St Louis Blues Nashville looks to continue their dominant record so far against the Blues this season. Going 3-0-0 against the Blues in front of Pekka Rinne, Nashville has picked up game winners from David Legwand (in the shootout), Martin Erat (in the shootout), and Kevin Klein (in regulation). Saturday will also mark the Nashville Predators Fangtastic 5k Run/Walk, presented by Adventureworks. It is not too late to make plans to come out and join us! Click here for more information and to register today! Radio coverage of the game will be on the Preds Radio Network including flagship station 102.5FM The Game. Puck drops at 6:00pm/CT.

This Week...The Preds get back to work exactly one week after the All Star Break began for them. Games start on Tuesday in Minnesota as the Preds take on the Wild. Time away from Bridgestone continues on Thursday as the team heads to Philly for a tilt against the Flyers. After a long 11 days away, the Preds head back home on Saturday to take on St Louis in a Central Division showdown to close out the week.

Injury Report

Ryan Suter returned to action last week and participated in NHL All-Star Weekend activities.

Jerred Smithson is day-to-day with an upper-body injury (missed last Tuesday's game at Chicago)

The Week That Was...The Preds started last week with back-to-back games on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday at Bridgestone, Nashville picked up the 4-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Patric Hornqvist became the Predators’ top scorer with his power-play goal in the third period. Matt Halischuk posted his second goal in four games and Ryan Ellis posted an assist on his goal, giving in seven points in his last nine games. To close out their back-to-back and to begin the All Star Break, the Preds traveled to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks. The 3-1 win gave Pekka Rinne his ninth straight win and put the Preds 12-2 in their last 14 games. The win also marked the second time in four days that Nashville beat the Hawks in the highly competitive Central Division. Craig Smith and Mike Fisher both scored in the first to give the Preds an early lead and Colin Wilson iced the victory on an empty-netter with 12.8 seconds left. At the All-Star Game in Ottawa on Sunday, Shea Weber (Team Alfredsson) led all skaters with 22:12 of ice time and Ryan Suter (Team Chara) picked up one assist. In the All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday, rookie Craig Smith dominated the pylon skating portion of the relay challenge and Shea Weber set a personal best with a 106 mph slapshot.

Pekka Rinne won both games on the week, stopping 49-of-51 shots for a 1.00 goals against average and .961 save percentage. Mike Fisher (3g-0a) and Ryan Suter (0g-3a) led the offense with three points each, while four other Preds posted two-point weeks.

Prospect of the Week...Austin Watson -- Nashville's first round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Watson recorded one goal and four assists in three games last week. On Friday night he had the lone assist on the game-tying goal (a shorthanded goal) late in the second period and then, less than 3:00 later, had the primary assist on the game-winning goal (a power-play goal). During his World Junior Championship run with Team USA, Watson was traded to OHL power-house London. In the nine games since the trade he has scored five goals and 12 points.